The Supreme Judicial Council announced on Tuesday that it is mediating to resolve the crisis between lawyers and judges.
Lawyers have been protesting for several days nationwide after judges proposed amendments to the law on judicial authority. Lawyers object to not having been consulted, and to specific amendments, such as one stipulating that judges can arrest anyone, including lawyers, who "disturb" court sessions.
Judges closed the courts, saying they could not ensure justice during the protests, which in some places prevented judges from entering courts. Lawyers then filed complaints with the attorney general, accusing judges of committing a crime against the people by suspending court hearings.
Former Lawyers Syndicate president Sameh Ashour accused the Judges Club of fomenting sedition within society.
Meanwhile Montasser al-Zayat, candidate for the syndicate presidency, said the ministers of interior and justice told him the military council would not endorse the amended judicial authority draft law, which the lawyers objected to.
They assured him that the draft law would only be reviewed and issued by the new parliament, after completion of the parliamentary elections scheduled to start at the end of November.
“Lawyers assaulting judges and prosecutors in court is a grave matter,” said Mohamed Salem, secretary general of the Supreme Judicial Council. “We are mediating with both sides to bring an end to this crisis.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition
